


The Gods of Old - The Dead Men War Book 3

by kaisantrash



Series: The Dead Men War [3]
Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-21 21:54:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14294289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaisantrash/pseuds/kaisantrash
Summary: Valkyrie Cain has faced a demigod and two murdering psychopaths, and now she has to face yet another bunch of murdering psychos alongside the Dead Men.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's back again :)  
> I'm so excited for this book because I've decided to introduce a few new OCs as well as a few of Derek's characters earlier because I'm very impatient :))

"Your turn." Satya Eka leaned over and plucked the cigarette that Ghastly Bespoke held between his two fingers, bringing it to her lips as she leaned back into her armchair, a grin on her lips.

Ghastly observed the chessboard for a moment before sighing, knocking over his king, "You win."

"For the eighteenth game in a row!" Satya exclaimed with a grin, raising her glass to him and putting down her cigarette and downing her drink, "Face it, Ghastly- You'll never beat me, I learnt from the best!"

Ghastly snorted, "We learnt from the same person," he reminded her, referring to their evenings they spent being instructed by Ghastly's father.

"Proves that I'm simply better," Satya said with a shrug before straightening with a strange glint in her eye, "Unless you're head has been in cloud- Thinking about a certain blonde, are we?"

Ghastly scoffed, shaking his bald head, "Don't be ridiculous."

Satya sighed in exasperation, "Well, why not? You are both adults who like eachother- Suck it up and ask her out, for god's sake!"

Ghastly took a sip of his whiskey, "She's far too young."

Satya looked at him disbelievingly, "She's eighty."

"And I'm close to four-fifty," Ghastly reminded her before sighing, yet again, "Besides, she doesn't need a man like me. She's far to beautiful to get stuck with me."

"Jesus Christ," Satya said, almost slamming her glass down, "Haven't you ever heard of a date? You go on one, if it works out then you go on, hunky-dory."

"And if not?"

Satya threw up her hands in exasperation, "You have sex and move on!" She exclaimed.

Ghastly choked on his drink, coughing with a splutter.

"Grow up, Bespoke," Satya told him.

"Have sex and move on?" He repeated, "You mean like you and China?" 

"Oh, don't you dare," Satya warned him, "We are not talking about China and I- We are talking about you and a woman who clearly like eachother."

"What, and you don't like China?" Ghastly asked, tilting his head in a very Skulduggery-esque manner.

"What on earth did I just say?" Satya told him, "We're not talking about me and China- But if you must know, China and I have an understanding."

"An understanding, you say?" 

"Oh, fuck off."

Ghastly grinned, reaching for his phone which had started to buzz.

00000000000

"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick," Valkyrie Cain crinkled her nose, feeling her stomach turn slightly.

 _"Bridegroom to the goddess, She tightened her torc on him. And opened her fen, Those dark juices working, Him to a saint's kept body,"_ Satya quoted darkly.

"What the hell does that mean?" Valkyrie stared at her, mouth agape.

"A Tollund man?" Skulduggery Pleasant asked, "That's what you think this is?"

"No, not really," Satya said with a shrug, "I just felt like quoting a bit of Heaney."

"I have never been so confused," Valkyrie said as the three of them and Dexter Vex stood around the dead corpse of Cameron Light. He had been stabbed in the back, his blood surrounding him like wings on the carpet of his living room.

She ducked her head slightly, avoiding the sight of the body.

"What do we know?" Skulduggery asked, with the air of a teacher in a classroom.

"He's dead," Satya said bluntly, "I'm feeling very cold."

"As much as they are correlating factors, they are not particularly useful," Skulduggery told her.

"He was taken by surprise," Valkyrie answered, "That's why he doesn't have any defensive wounds."

"Or didn't simply teleport away," Dexter added.

"So either he knew the killer," Valkyrie said, observing the bare walls of the house, "Or the killer was just really good at hiding."

"But what did the killer want?" Skulduggery asked, again, with the air of a teacher.

"Like I said," Satya said, slightly bored, "A Tollund man."

"Yes, then you said you didn't think so and you just fancied a bit of poetry," Dexter reminded her.

"Well," Satya waved her hand, "Think about it. All the teleporters are being killed. Why? Because they have something the killer wants."

"Yes, but you're forgetting the whole idea of the Tollund man," Skulduggery said, "He was sacrificed to the goddess of fertility and harvest. I highly doubt- Oh."

Satya snapped her fingers, "Now, you're getting it."

"I swear I don't understand half the conversations that you two have," Dexter said, shaking his head.

"Wait, what was the poem about?" Valkyrie asked in slight confusion.

"I'm not much of a Heaney fan myself," Dexter said, "So, I have no clue what exactly is going on but I think the gist of it is that they think the teleporters are being used to bring back the gods."

"How on earth did they-" Valkyrie shook her head, a grin, "Satya, you talked to Saracen, didn't you?"

"Ruin my fun, why don't you?" Satya grumbled, pulling out her phone as it began ringing, "Yes, Hopeless?"

After a moment she sighed, "Okay, tell him that we understand that he's on a hit list but that doesn't make us work any damn faster." She hung up.

"Emmett Peregrine showed up at the Sanctuary, demanding answers," She informed them, "He wants to speak with Skulduggery."

"I'm flattered, really," Skulduggery said, leaning over to examine the body, "But what exactly can I say to him that the Grand Mage and two Elders can't say?"

"He wants to speak to someone who knows how to solve a murder," Satya replied with a scoff, "Quite ridiculous if you ask me, everyone knows that Saracen can solve more murders than you."

"Yes, but he takes the fun out of it," Dexter said off handedly, "Can we please go now? I'm not sure what else you can get out of this."

"Yes, let's," Skulduggery said, placing his hat back onto his skull, "I want to talk to Emmett, it's been a while."


	2. Chapter 2

Valkyrie got out of the Bentley as Skulduggery parked outside the Sanctuary, "So, this is the last Teleporter, right?"

"Right," Satya said, slamming the door to her Porsche.

"I feel like I should bow, or something," Valkyrie said with a snort, "Seeing as he's the last of."

"Do you bow every time you see the only living skeleton?" Skulduggery asked, "Even though you probably should, you don't."

"That'll happen when hell freezes over," She told him with a grin.

"I tried."

The four walked into the wax museum, past the throngs of tourists that gathered around a figure that claimed to look like Beyonce.

They made their way to the back, taking one of the doors with a staff only sign, finding themselves in the entrance hall of the Sanctuary.

"Hey, Mum," Valkyrie greeted Melissa Edgley who sat behind a desk, tapping away at her computer.

"Hello, darling-" Melissa flashed her a smile before looking behind the girl, "Skulduggery, this came for you." She pushed an envelope over the top shelf of her desk.

"Ah, yes. Fan mail," Skulduggery said with an approving nod.

"So," Melissa focused back on her daughter, "How's the case going?"

"Well, we have the last teleporter in Hopeless' office so I'd say not incredibly well," Satya said before pointing at the second coffee mug sitting on the desk, "Is that for me?" She asked hopefully.

Melissa pushed it towards Satya with a dismissive wave, "Take it," She said, "Steph- Don't forget, homework," She eyed her daughter with a warning glance.

Valkyrie groaned and Dexter slid his arm around her shoulders, "Oh, don't worry, Val," He said cheerfully, "You can finish it after training!"

She groaned again before turning to follow Satya who was happily drinking her coffee.

In the three years that her parents had known the Dead Men, Melissa and Satya had formed a very strange friendship. Not the kind where they spilled every dark secret of theirs, but one where they met up for coffee weekly and one where Melissa often listened to Satya whenever something came up- Like their battle with Baron Vengeous the previous year.

"Emmett!" Satya greeted, opening the door, "It's been- what? Forty years?"

A man was sitting on the couch across from Hopeless' desk. He had tightly curled brown hair and a few days’ worth of beard growth, looking slightly agitated. 

"Satya, lovely as ever," He greeted with a nod, "Vex, Skulduggery."

"Emmett, this is Valkyrie Cain," Hopeless stood from behind his desk, adorned in his Grand Mage robes, black with threads of gold.

"Our pet Elemental."

Valkyrie glared at Erskine Ravel who sat on the other couch, also dressed in black Elder robes.

Peregrine was a man who apparently didn’t indulge in small talk. “Who’s behind it? Who’s killing the Teleporters?”

“We don’t know.”

“Well, why don’t you know?” he snapped. “You’re supposed to be the big detective, aren’t you? Isn’t that what they say?”

"Watch it, Emmett," Satya said in warning, "We haven't had much to go on since most of you're kindred decided to run off into solitude. If you had come earlier, we may have had a few leads."

"Seeing as you are the last teleporter," Skulduggery interrupted, "It would be safe to assume the killer is after you. You need protection."

"I'm not the last teleporter," Peregrine said quickly, "There's a kid- Fletcher Renn. Turned up last year. A natural-born with no training, cocky as hell."

Hopeless blinked, "You didn't think to mention this earlier?"

Peregrine shrugged. 

Behind Valkyrie, she could hear Dexter whisper something under his breath.

"Where is he? He's obviously a target," Skulduggery asked.

"No clue," Peregrine said, "Cameron and I went to see him a few months back, he was causing too much attention, we offered to train him. Asshole laughed in our faces and buggered off."

"So we have another teleporter to look out for?" Dexter said, "Great."

"Emmett," Hopeless said, "We can hook you up with a few safe houses but it would be safe to assume that you can't trust anyone but us."

Emmett nodded and like a light blinking out, he was gone.

"I hate teleporters," Erskine announced.

"He was telling us before about a teleporter who was murdered about fifty years back," Hopeless told them, "Trope Kessel. They found his body by the shore of the Upper Lake."

"No one solved that murder," Erskine added before narrowing his eyes, "What's that, Skul?"

Valkyrie turned to see the skeleton opening the letter, pulling out and unfolding the paper.

"Valkyrie and I are being summoned," He said with slight surprise.

"By who?" She asked in confusion.

"Cassandra Pharos."

Immediately, his head snapped to look at Satya. Dexter, Erskine and Hopeless had avoided looking at the woman, like they wanted no part in this.

"What does she want?" Satya all but spat.

"Doesn't specify," Skulduggery replied.

"Ignore it."

"You know I can't. She's obviously seen something important."

Satya snorted, her expression dark and forbidding, "Seen something important? She probably has the dates wrong. Don't bother."

Valkyrie watched the exchange like it was an enticing movie, her eyes darting to each of them as if they were warring characters in the film, except she was missing a significant plot line.

Hopeless cleared his throat, "Anyway," He said, "Skulduggery, how do you want to proceed?"

Skulduggery slowly turned away from Satya and faced the Grand Mage, "Tomorrow, Valkyrie and I will see Cassandra, see if she knows anything about this Fletcher Renn. Dexter-"

Dexter yawned, collapsing on the couch next to Erskine.

"You and Saracen can start looking into the unsolved murder, find some leads."

"Do you want Robin to come back home?" Hopeless asked, referring to Robin Larrikin who was off gallivanting the world in his husband, Anton Shudder's magical hotel.

"No," Skulduggery shook his skull, "Leave him be for now. We may need him elsewhere if we find Renn. Satya-"

"Don't bother," Satya cut him off, "'Go see China', I know." And with that, she turned on her heel, coffee mug in hand and left the office, door slamming behind her.

"What was that about?" Valkyrie asked, wide eyed, turning to face the men.

Hopeless sighed, sitting back down in his chair, "Bad blood between the two."

"Bad blood is an exaggeration," Dexter corrected, "Satya doesn't like Cassandra Pharos."

"Who is she?"

"A seer," Skulduggery answered, "She was a friend of Ghastly's mother. We knew her when we were younger."

"Why does Satya hate her so much?"

Skulduggery didn't answer straight away, instead choosing to sit down, tucking the letter in his inner pocket, "It's a complicated story," He said, "And I think it's something Satya would prefer to tell you about herself."

Valkyrie wanted to press but she nodded.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO for yall who read the oneshot and minific side book that I have then the last part of Before the War is set before the vision. Just wanted to make yall cry a bit.

"Are we at that point in our relationship where we buy gifts for each other? Because you're on the right track." China Sorrows eyed the leather bound text in Satya's hands hungrily.

Satya laughed, "You wish," She said with a grin, "Val wants to send her parents to Gordon's place in France for their anniversary this weekend but can't touch a penny of the money Gordon left her so he said she could sell one of his books for cash."

"And?"

Satya dropped the book in front of China on the desk, "Three things; Cameron Light is dead, do you know anything about the Trope Kessel murder and have you heard of a kid called Fletcher Renn."

"Never liked that man, not really and no," China said before sitting back in her seat, "Twenty five."

Satya snorted, "It's worth thirty and Gordon paid forty, nice try."

China threw up her hands in exasperation, "What is a five year old going to do with forty thousand dollars?!"

Satya looked at her, "She's almost fifteen."

China sighed, getting up and picking up the book, gesturing for Satya to follow her. They walked into China's office and Satya immediately slid onto the desk, crossing one of her legs over the other.

China reached for her checkbook, scribbling something onto it before reaching over and slipping it into the inside pocket of Satya's jacket, "So, what's got you in a mood."

Satya blinked, "I'm not in a mood."

China raised her eyebrow, hooking her fingers through the belt hoops of Satya's jeans, "Must you always wear jeans when you come and see me?" She mused, "They're a pain to get off."

Satya rolled her eyes, before hopping off the desk, "Sorry, can't stick around. I have errands to run," She said, taking a step back.

"Not in a mood, you say?"

Satya stopped, closing her eyes, "I guess I can spare a half hour or so."

oooooooooooooooo

Valkyrie scribbled down the answers to the homework quickly, praying that her English teacher didn't walk in before she could finish the questions. She had meant to finish them the previous night, but after training and some research for the case, she had fallen into bed without bother to take a shower and changing.

"Hey, Stephanie."

She looked up, "Oh, hey Livia," She greeted, slightly awkwardly.

"Um-" Livia Thorne didn't meet her eyes, "Sorry, I've been trying to catch you out of class but you always run out really quickly," She said with a shaky laugh.

"Oh, yeah," Valkyrie nodded, "I've been trying to get all this done in school so I can work on cases."

"Right," Livia cleared her throat, her cheeks tinting slightly pink, "Well, I've been trying to ask if you wanted to sit with us during lunch? A few of us hang out in the west room. It's all sorcerers- We have to stick together, I guess."

"Ah, yeah, sure," Valkyrie said with a grin. Livia immediately relaxed and she smiled, "Great!" She was about to go to her seat across the room, towards the front.

"Oh, wait-" Valkyrie called. Livia stopped and waited.

"Could you maybe-" Valkyrie winced, "-Not mention that I work for the Sanctuary? I know it's really weird and-"

"Don't worry about it," Livia said with an understanding smile, "I just told them I met you at Elder Bliss' funeral."

"Thanks," Valkyrie said gratefully. 

"Morning, lovely people!" Ms Halle walked in a bright yellow polkadot dress, "Who's ready to talk about Shakespeare!"

Valkyrie hid her groan with her school scarf.

oooooooo

Livia waited by Valkyrie's desk as Valkyrie dumped her books back into her bag after class, "So, anything interesting going on?"

"We're working on the teleporter murders," Valkyrie told her, taking care to make sure no one was listening in. 

"Oh, I heard about that," Livia said with a nod, "Mum was pretty pissed about it. Said she knew one of them from the war."

"And it's my parents anniversary this weekend," Valkyrie said before sighing, "I have to figure out what I'm going to get them if this whole Paris thing doesn't work out."

"Paris thing?"

"I'm trying to get them to go spend the weekend at my uncle's villa," Valkyrie informed her, "But I don't know how to cover it."

"Damn," Livia looked sympathetic, "That sucks."

Valkyrie noticed the book she held in her hands, "A physics textbook? I thought you couldn't take it because of a clash."

"Oh, this isn't for physics," Livia informed her with a grin, before showing her the cover and knocking on the cover thrice. Suddenly, a blue sigil shone and melted into the cover, melting away the false textbook cover and revealing an old leather book, "It's a history book about the War," She explained before stopping, "But you probably know all about this stuff."

"Surprisingly, no," Valkyrie confessed as they passed the eating hall, "Just a few bits and pieces."

"Oh," Livia seemed surprised, "That's weird, considering the half the first chapter is about Satya and her husband and son."

Valkyrie blinked, "Wait- what?" She had no clue what Livia was talking about. Husband? Son?

"Well, they were killed in the first attack on Dublin by the Church of the Faceless," Livia said, her eyebrows furrowed, "Wait, you really don't know-?"

She was cut off by a girl waving from one of the window seats in the west courtyard, "Livi! Over here!"

Valkyrie followed Livia towards the girl with the dark skin and frizzy hair tied back, she wore gold eye liner that made her eyes seem like they shone bright like stars. Next to her sat a boy with blue hair, his skin so pale that he reminded Valkyrie of a vampire. 

"Hey, guys," Livia greeted, "This is Stephanie- Or Valkyrie," She introduced, "She was the girl I was telling you about."

"Hi!" The girl said excitedly, "I'm Dinah Loom!" Valkyrie nodded in greeting.

"I'm Lucas Deal," The boy with blue hair said before shuffling over, "Come, sit."

Valkyrie sat down next to him, "Thanks."

Livia sat on the bench across from them, resting her feet against the seat next to her.

"So, how come you you went to the Elder's funeral? I don't recognise the name and I know that the lists are very restricted," Dinah asked curiously.

"Oh- My mum's the Administrator," Valkyrie told them, thankful she had a legitimate reason to not mention the Dead Men.

"Holy crap!" Dinah exclaimed, "You probably see the Dead Men all the time!" 

Valkyrie felt her heart sink, oh dear lord.

"Oh, not really- The Grand Mage and Elders are always busy," She said, not very convincingly, "And the detectives are-" She was saved from having to come up with an excuse by her phone ringing,  _Mr and Mrs Jones_ breaking the silence in the courtyard.

"Shit, sorry," Valkyrie pulled out her phone, making sure they couldn't see the screen where Skulduggery's name was flashing up.

She stood up, answering the call, "Dude, I'm at school."

" _Did you just call me dude?"_

"Yes, yes I did."

_"Well, don't ever do that again. I'll fire you."_

"You don't have the authority to do that."

_"Whatever. Plan's changed, I'm picking you up early._

"What? Why?"

_"I want to go see the Sea Hag at sundown so we're going to have to hurry up and go see Cassandra."_

"So, you're picking me up now?"

_"Correct."_

"Okay, so who are you? An uncle? Long lost cousin?"

_"Uncle."_

"Sweet, see you."

He hung up.

"Ah- My uncle's picking me up early," She told the other three as she went back, "Something came up."

"Oh, okay," Livia looked worried, "Everything alright?"

Valkyrie nodded, with a quick smile, "Yeah- Nice meeting you!" She said to the other two.

"See you tomorrow!" Dinah said with a wide smile. Lucas just waved lazily.

ooooooooo

"You're oddly silent."

Valkyrie blinked, looking up from her phone, "Am I?"

Skulduggery tilted his head, "Yes. It's suspicious."

Valkyrie looked at him strangely, "So, you'd rather I talk?"

Skulduggery looked like he was about to say something to contradict that, instead his shoulders fell, "Fine, I'm trying to ask what's wrong."

"That's literally all it took."

He looked like he was glaring at her.

"Fine," She sighed, "Livia Thorn was telling me about this history book about the war."

"Which war? There have been a few."

"No- Our war- Mevolent, Serpine."

"Ah, right."

"And she mentioned how most of the first chapter was about-" Valkyrie hesitated, "About Satya and her..." She trailed off.

Skulduggery was silent for a moment, "Ah." He said finally.

"Ah?" Valkyrie repeated, eyebrows raised, "That's it? I didn't even know Satya was married- Let alone had a kid."

"Like I said," Skulduggery said, his tone oddly muted, "Satya has a complicated story, to say the least. She'll tell you about it one day."

Like the previous day, she wanted to press but just nodded.

"Besides, we're here." 

They pulled into the drive in front of a cottage, surrounded by trees and hills. 

"Cassandra's one of the best sensitives around," Skulduggery said. 

"Then why did Satya say she probably got something wrong?"

Skulduggery gave the skeleton equivalent of a sigh, "Like I said, it's complicated."

They walked to the cottage and just before Skulduggery could raise his gloved hand to knock, the cottage door opened and a woman appeared. She looked to be in her fifties, and her long hair was grey and hung loosely around her shoulders. She wore a faded dress and a light cardigan.

“Cassandra,” Skulduggery said, a smile in his voice. “You’re looking well.”

“You’re a liar,” Cassandra Pharos said, “but I don’t care. It’s good to see you again.”

"This is Valkyrie," Skulduggery rested a glove hand on Valkyrie's shoulder.

"Ah yes," Cassandra smiled at her, "You look older in my visions."

"Visions?" Valkyrie queried, shooting a wide eyed look at Skulduggery.

"Oh yes," Cassandra said with a grave nod, "But you're only here because of one- Well, two if we want to get technical."

Cassandra ushered them into the cottage and closed the door behind them. It was an almost perfectly ordinary cottage. It had rugs, it had a sofa, a TV, a bookshelf, a guitar in the corner and doors leading off into the other rooms. But what set it apart from any other cottage Valkyrie had been in were the dozens of little wooden figures hanging from the rafters.

Each one was about the size of her outstretched hand and was made up of bundles of twigs, bound with strips of black ribbon. Two arms, two legs, a torso and a head. Cassandra saw her looking.

“My abilities don’t work the same as most sensitives,” she said, “Mine require a lot more effort for significantly lesser results. For me, glimpses of the future can come during meditation, they can flash into my head without warning or they can come in dreams. I have all sorts of tools of the trade to help me, from every culture and country.” She took a twig figure off a shelf. “This is a dream whisperer. Dreams that you forget, that drift of-the-world visions. They’re always so graphic.”

 

 

 

Valkyrie did her best to look interested and not creeped out. Cassandra was making it sound like the little figure was alive.

Cassandra smiled and held it out. “Take it,” she said. “You look like you have interesting dreams.”

Valkyrie hesitated then took it. “Thank you. It’s…lovely.”

It didn’t have any features, no mouth or eyes, but she could still feel it watching her. She smiled tentatively and put it carefully in her coat pocket.

Cassandra led them to a narrow door and they followed her down into the cellar. In stark and unpleasant contrast to the cosiness of the cottage, the cellar was an ugly room of cement brick walls and harsh lighting that made Valkyrie’s headache jab at her. The floor was a large metal grille and beneath the grille, coals. Rusted old pipes ran from a red wheel, up the wall and across the ceiling. Sprinklers protruded from the pipes and hung down half a metre below the protected lights. In the middle of the floor was a single straight-backed chair. A yellow umbrella lay beside it.

“This is the Steam Chamber,” Cassandra said as she sat in the chair. “This is where I can project what I’ve seen into images. Sometimes it’s hazy; sometimes it’s clear. Sometimes there is sound, sometimes not. At the very least, you can get an idea of what’s in my head. Before we begin, however, you have to understand something." She hesitated before looking at Skulduggery, "The first vision I saw- which I will be showing you- is from the past. I wasn't going to show it to you until I saw the second vision where I saw myself sitting here, showing it to you."

"Why?" Skulduggery asked.

Cassandra held his gaze before her flicked towards Valkyrie and then back to his blank skull, "Because you have already lived this," She said softly, "And I didn't want to push this memory on you again, especially since it is quite a touchy subject between myself and Satya Eka."

Then her gaze wondered over to Valkyrie who was watching Skulduggery, as if she was trying to understand the gravity of the situation by gauging his reaction.

"And I think it may answer some of your questions, Valkyrie," Cassandra said.

“Now then,” Cassandra said, “to business. Skulduggery, if you wouldn’t mind…?”

Skulduggery looked at Valkyrie. “This may get a little warm.”

He clicked his fingers, summoning flame into both of his hands, and then he tossed the fireballs at the ground. They fell through the grille and he gestured, and the flames spread out and started to burn with the coals.

Cassandra closed her eyes and stayed like that for a minute or two. Valkyrie wanted to ask if she could open the door at the top of the stairs to let some air in because Skulduggery hadn’t been lying. It was getting uncomfortably warm down here.

Without opening her eyes, Cassandra reached down, picked up the umbrella and opened it. She rested it against her shoulder, open above her head, and she nodded, “I’m ready.”

Again, Skulduggery snapped his fingers and Valkyrie could hear the creak of the turning of a wheel. The sound of rushing water filled the pipes and drops began to fall from the sprinklers. 

Skulduggery moved her back three more steps just as the full spray came on. Valkyrie stood with her back to the wall, the spray just hitting her boots. The water passed through the grille, hissing as it hit the burning coals, and steam began to billow.

Cassandra sat in the middle of the room, her yellow umbrella doing its best to keep her dry, and then she was lost from sight. The steam was thick like mist, like fog, getting denser with each passing moment. Suddenly, the sprinklers stopped but the thick fog stayed.

She could hear whispers and immediately took a step back, into Skulduggery's chest. "Watch," His voice was just a whisper, resting his hand on her arm.

Valkyrie swallowed but relaxed, comforted by the fact that she wasn't alone.

Suddenly, colour seemed to bleed into the fog, until they were both standing in what looked to be a living room in a house that Valkyrie had seen in old photos and paintings.

"No-" She felt Skulduggery stiffened, "Not this- God, please not this-"

"What's happening?" Valkyrie asked, her voice hitched in worry at the pain in Skulduggery's voice.

"Watch," Cassandra's voice echoed in the chamber.

To Valkyrie's confusion, a familiar figure bled into focus.

"Satya?" She whispered, her mouth agape.

Satya Eka looked younger, the lines of stress and annoyance gone from her face. She was dressed in a long, pale grey dress that bunch at her hips and then flared out to her feet.

She was packing a rucksack, stuffing a pouch into it before resting her fingers on a small book. Valkyrie watched as the woman's lips raised slightly in a smile before stuffing the book into the sack. 

"Bjorn," She called, looking up towards one of the armchairs sitting infront of a fireplace where a handsome, red-haired man sat, a young boy bouncing on his knee.  _Bee-yorn._

"Holy crap," Valkyrie muttered, her eyes resting on the man who looked, quite frankly stunning, "Is that her husband?" 

"Not exactly," Skulduggery said, his voice cold and unflinching.

"-fetch your father, darling. We need to leave soon."

The dark haired boy nodded, hopping off the man's knee and running off.

"Don't run in the-!" Satya called before shaking her head, "Ridiculous," She muttered before taking two sharp steps towards the man and smacking the back of his head, "I'm trying to have him become a scholar like his father. Must you have to come along and tell stories to ruin him?"

"I resent that."

Valkyrie gave a start. Because the voice of the man, very clearly belonged to the skeleton standing behind her. "What the fuck?" She whispered, eyes wide.

"Besides," The Skulduggery in the vision began, "Not every boy is going to be like their father. Bjorn may turn out to be like you."

"I hope not," Satya murmured, "I think one soldier is enough for each family, don't you think?"

Valkyrie was still staring in shock at the Skulduggery in the vision, so distracted that she hadn't noticed the newcomer.

"There you are, Jonas," Satya broke into a smile.  _You-nus._

"Sorry, darling," The main apologised. He had a Scandinavian accent. He wore a shirt that looked to have burn marks on the front, paired with brown trousers. He had light brown hair, stubble on his jaw and chin, not artfully shaved like Valkyrie knew Saracen and Dexter did, but out of forgetfulness. He wasn't particularly muscular, but he had a lean build with wide shoulders, like he carried heavy things. 

He carried the boy from before and Valkyrie was struck by how alike they looked. They had the same nose and lips, but the young boy had the dark hair of his mother and tan skin that was an even mix of the two.

This was Satya's husband and son.

"I'll be back in a few hours," Satya said, walking over to them and cupping the boy's face tenderly and looking him in the eyes, "You must be a good boy, okay? I'll be back in time for dinner."

Behind Valkyrie, Skulduggery let out a sound that was strangled, something that she had never heard before from him. She wanted to look back at him but something kept her eyes on the scene that was unfolding infront of them.

The boy nodded and Satya smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

"Love you, Mummy," He murmured with a childish, shy lilt.

"Love you too, Bjorn," She replied with a fond smile before looking up at the man, "Don't set anything on fire."

The man smiled in amusement but his eyes were still sad and filled with worry, "Be safe," He murmured, "Come home to us."

Satya nodded, before pressing a kiss to his lips quickly before puling away, "Skulduggery, let's go."

Valkyrie watched as Satya hooked her hand through Skulduggery's and after pressing a kiss to her hand and waving, they were out the door.

The scene seemed to move around to fit the chamber. Valkyrie felt slight sick as she seemingly hovered next to the walking couple, the fog up to her knees. Skulduggery's stiff touch steadied her, grounding her.

"Would you change anything if you knew about the war?" That Skulduggery asked, his smooth, velvety voice hadn't changed much over the centuries.

"You mean would I have gotten married and had Bjorn if I had know that I would be involved as much?" Satya replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Was the short reply.

Satya sighed, a smile full of amusement on her lips, "You mean should you bother marrying Helena if we're going to be at war."

"Right again."

Again, Valkyrie felt the urge to look back to see Skulduggery's -  _her_ Skulduggery's- reaction.

"Skulduggery, really, you've been-" Satya was cut off by a loud rumble, the scene shaking and flickering. Satya and Skulduggery stumbled, grasping eachother to steady eachother.

"What on earth-?" Satya exclaimed, eyes wide as she looked around and then her eyes widened, "No!" She screamed.

Then Skulduggery was holding his head, wincing before straightening, "Satya- No-!" He ran after Satya who had ran towards her house where black flames had began to engulf the building.

"NO!" She screamed, conjuring up a shield of air, about to run in.

Skulduggery all but tackled her, grabbing her waist and holding her back, "IT'S BLACK FIRE!" He shouted, "YOU CAN'T!"

Valkyrie's heart was pounding.

"MY SON!" Satya screamed, "LET ME GO!" Tears were streaming down her face, and she struggled against him, trying to hit his face, "BJORN! JONAS!" She sobbed," LET ME GO-" She collapsed against him, and with a start, Valkyrie realised it wasn't the smoke filling the air, Satya's eyes were turning black.

The flames and smoke merged into the fog and suddenly Valkyrie was back in the chamber, a wave of dizziness hit her and she stumbled back.

"Easy," Skulduggery murmured, "Why did you show us that?"

Valkyrie swallowed at his voice. His voice was calm, and filled with fury and darkness.

"I told you," the fog cleared and Cassandra came into focus. She was pale and looked scared, "I only did because I saw myself do it. It's important to the future, to what decisions you will all make soon."

"Satya was right," Skulduggery said, "We shouldn't have come. Valkyrie, let's go." Valkyrie followed him out of the chamber, avoiding Cassandra's gaze.

ooooooooo

"His name was Jonas Leser," Skulduggery broke the silence that they had maintained on the drive for over an hour, "He was an inventor and was a damn brilliant man."

Valkyrie focused on her fingers, picking at imaginary specks of dirt to distract herself.

"Satya adored him," He continued, "And a year after they got married, Bjorn Elijah Leser came along."

His shoulders were slumped, like he was resigned. 

"He was named after Jonas' father who was a viking, and Ghastly's father, who was more a father to Satya than Satya's real father," He continued, "The attack we saw- Cassandra had a vision about it the day before. We had been summoned to the Sanctuary to discuss it, and we were going to meet with other Sensitives to try and put a timeline together."

"But Cassandra's estimations were off?" Valkyrie guessed.

Skulduggery nodded, "Off by months," He said softly, "Satya hasn't really forgiven her for it."

After a moment of silence, he spoke again, "Their deaths-" He hesitated, "Their deaths did something to Satya like..." He cleared his non-existent throat, "My wife and child's did to me. She wasn't the same after that."

Valkyrie stayed silent and after a few moments more drive, they finally arrived at the Upper Lake.

"So, from one hag to another?" She murmured.

Skulduggery gave a snort before wrapping his scarf around his skull, "Let's catch ourselves a soul."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yall!! How's it going; Please let me know your thoughts and theories- Oh and if yall have any oneshot and headcanon prompts please let me know and i'll write about it in my oneshot/minific book.

"About damn time, Rue," Skulduggery said, straightening up from leaning against the Bentley.

"I take it that your visit to Cassandra was useless?" Saracen Rue said as he shut the door to his car, pulling something out of his pocket and tossing it over. Skulduggery snatched it out of the air.

"Just don't bring it up in front of Satya," He warned. Valkyrie got out of the Bentley, tossing aside the math homework that she had started doing while waiting for Saracen to show up. She joined Skulduggery's side.

Saracen locked the car and followed them.

They walked along the edge, between the water and the trees, until they came to a moss-covered stump. Skulduggery hunkered down and dipped his gloved hand through the hollow at its base, while Valkyrie looked around, making sure they weren’t being watched. But there was no one around. 

Skulduggery held out the object that Saracen had tossed him, a small silver bell and rang it.

"Um..." Valkyrie blinked, "Was that supposed to do something?"

"The hag will hear it," Saracen told her, "Pretty unimpressive but hey, so is the walking, talking skeleton."

"Fuck you, Rue."

"Well, it is kinda unimpressive," Valkyrie told the skeleton, "Not you- I mean the bell. But yeah you are pretty unimpressive too."

"You are going to regret that-" Skulduggery was cut off by the sound of gurgling water.

The waters churned and a wizened old woman rose from the surface. She was dressed in rags, and had long skinny arms and hair that was indistinguishable from the weeds that coiled through it. Her nose was hooked and her eyes were hollow, and instead of legs she had what appeared to be a fish’s tail that stayed beneath the water.

She looked, in Valkyrie’s opinion, like a really old, really ugly mermaid.

“Who disturbs me?” the Sea Hag asked in a voice that sounded like someone drowning.

“I do,” Skulduggery said. “My name is Skulduggery Pleasant.”

“That is not your name,” the Sea Hag said.

“It’s the name I’ve taken,” Skulduggery replied. “As my colleagues beside me have taken the names Valkyrie Cain and Saracen Rue.”

The Sea Hag shook her head, almost sadly. “You give power to names,” she said. “Too much of your strength lies in your names. Long ago, I surrendered my name to the Deep. Cast your eyes upon me now and answer truthfully: Have you ever seen such happiness as this?”

Valkyrie looked at her—all weeds, wrinkled skin, and dour expression—and decided it best to contribute nothing to this conversation.

"Good idea," Saracen whispered under his breath to her.

"Why have you disturbed me?" The hag repeated.

"We want to speak to a man who was found in this lake," Skulduggery spoke, "His soul belongs to you and we believe that he will be able to assist in a murder investigation."

The sea hag was silent, but she tilted her head, her dead eyes seemingly focusing on Valkyrie and Saracen, "Your friends do not speak. Why?"

"We have nothing to say," Saracen spoke, "We save our words for the soul we wish to speak to."

"Yet you had much to say about my bell," She replied, "Words travel through the waves."

"Um," Valkyrie winced, "It's a very pretty bell? Makes a nice-" She made a  _ding_ sound, making a gesture like she was playing the triangle, "-Sound."

Saracen blinked, turning to her with a look of someone who was trying not to break down in laughter.

The Sea Hag swayed back and forth, showing more of her giant fish tail, or whatever it was, and leaned down until she was an arm’s breadth away from Valkyrie. She smelled of rotting fish.

“Would you like to drown?” she inquired.

“No,” Valkyrie said. “No, thank you.”

The Sea Hag scowled. “What is it you want?”

Skulduggery stepped between them. “The man, fifty years ago?”

"Very well," The hag backed away from Valkyrie. The Hag waved her hand, and the remains of a man broke the surface of the lake beside her. This man of rot and bone, his clothes congealed into what was left of his skin and stained the same mud brown color, rose so that his feet were the only part of him still hidden beneath the small, choppy waves. His arms dangled loosely by his sides, and his eyes opened and water trickled from his mouth.

“Help me,” he said.

"Are you Trope Kessel?" Saracen asked, stepping forward.

"I am," He replied.

“We are here because four Teleporters have been killed in the past month. There is a possibility, however faint, that those murders are somehow linked to yours. How were you killed?”

“With a knife, in my back.”

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. The other Teleporters had been killed in exactly the same way. Maybe there _was_ a link after all.

“Who killed you?” she asked.

“He said his name was Batu.”

 _“Why_ did he kill you?” Skulduggery pressed.

“I was, I suppose, a scholar,” the dead man said. “Eons ago, the Faceless Ones were driven from this reality, and even though I had no wish to see them return, the mechanics behind their exile—the magic, the theory … It was a puzzle, and I became obsessed trying to solve it. I died because of my curiosity and my blind trust. I believed people were, by nature, good and decent and worthy. Batu, it transpired, was none of those things. He killed me because I knew how to find the thing he desired, and once I had told him, he had to protect his secret.”

“What did he desire?”

“The gate,” the corpse said. “The gate that will open and allow the Faceless Ones to return.”

"God damn it," Saracen said, "I hate being right all the time."

"Not about the Tollund Man part," Valkyrie muttered to him.

"That was just Satya being dramatic."

“Such a gate exists?” Skulduggery asked. He spoke slowly, cautiously, as if the answers were a dog he didn’t want to disturb. He actually sounded worried.

“It does, but I merely worked out how to find it—I never had the chance to put that theory into practice. The wall between our realities has weakened over time. Their darkness and their evil have bled through. A powerful-enough Sensitive should be able to trace the lines of energy in our world to their weakest point. It is there that the gate will open.”

“So why haven’t the Faceless Ones come through already?” Valkyrie asked.

“Two things are needed,” the corpse told them. “The first is an Isthmus Anchor, an object bound by an invisible thread traveling from this reality into the next. This thread is what keeps the gate from closing forever. But the Anchor is useless without someone to force the gate open, and only a Teleporter can do this.”

Valkyrie frowned. “But all the Teleporters are being killed.”

Skulduggery looked at her. “So what does that suggest?”

"It suggests that whoever is killing the teleporters is actually kinda good is trying to save us," Saracen answered, "And last year, the Grotesquery was working as the thread between worlds. It was probably providing the power the teleporter does to open the gate."

"Thank you for your help," Skulduggery said respectfully with a low dip of his hat.

"Wait-" The corpse reached out, "Help me- Save me-"

"We can't do that," Saracen said, "It would create an imbalance between the lake souls and the living."

"Thank you, Maiden of Water," Skulduggery said in farewell to the hag who nodded before snarling, tackling the corpse and bringing him down into the water. Within seconds, the water was calm and the two were no where in sight.

"Was there really no way to save him?" Valkyrie asked forlornly, peering down into the water.

"Not if we wanted to make enemies today," Saracen said with a sigh.

They began walking away from the lake, towards the cars.

"Why exactly is there a fifty year gap between Kessel's murder and these?" Valkyrie asked.

"Maybe it was a test?" Saracen suggested, "But what has Batu been doing in the fifty years?"

"Prison?" She offered, "Came out and went straight back to his old ways.

“You’re thinking more like a detective every day, do you know that?" Skulduggery said with a hint of satisfaction, "I'm doing something right."

Valkyrie groaned, "This means more research, right?"

"Don't be like that, you love research."

"Sure."

"Great, we can dig into the Sanctuary's files tomorrow and see if China knows anything," Skulduggery said.

"You going to send Satya?" Saracen asked, raising an eyebrow as he opened his car door.

"I'll stop by Satya's tonight," Skulduggery said as he got into the Bentley with a sigh, "See if I have to apologise for something."

ooooooooooo

"Who's in my house?" Satya called half-heartedly from the lounge, a glass of wine sitting on the coffee table next to her laptop and a few sheets of paper.

"It's me."

Satya sighed and looked up to see Skulduggery standing in the doorway, "What do you want?"

"Well, for one," He took off his hat and sat down next to her, "To apologise. I know you... dislike Cassandra."

"Don't worry about it," Satya waved her hand dismissively, "If I was to get angry everytime you visited someone I didn't like then you'd be getting the silent treatment for the next couple of centuries."

Skulduggery hesitated before pulling out the letter Cassandra had sent him, "I didn't get the chance to ask her but she said something in her letter."

Satya took the letter, scanning through it before frowning, "Beware the Ides of March? What is that supposed to mean?"

"It could either be a warning about something happening on the 15th of March or-"

"Or it could mean that Cassandra has seen something where your friends stab you in the back," Satya finished, "Metaphorically, I assume."

Skulduggery tilted his head, "Unless..."

"Unless what?" Satya asked, raising an eyebrow, "You think someone has figured out your secret?" She gave a shaky laugh, "Trust me, Skulduggery. If no one has figured it out in the last two centuries then I think you're in the clear."

Skulduggery was silent. Satya carried on typing away at her keyboard, "Did the Sea Hag tell you anything interesting?"

"Trope Kessel's murderer was man called Batu- According to Kessel, a teleporter can be used along with an Isthmus anchor to open a gate for the Faceless Ones," Skulduggery replied, "Do you think China will have anything on that?"

Satya shrugged, "I can go by tomorrow and see," She said, resting her fingers for a moment.

Skulduggery nodded, "Bring it by the Sanctuary. We have to go through records to see if we can figure out who this Batu person is," He placed his hat back on his head, "And whether he's a friend or foe."

ooooooooo

Valkyrie checked her phone as she sat down in her seat at the back of the History classroom. Satya had just sent through a picture of a page in a book from China's library. Valkyrie zoomed in on the text, frowning as she read.  _‘An object belonging to one reality, residing in another. Animate or inanimate. Magical or otherwise. Casts an Isthmus Stream, linking realities through dimensional portals.’_

She tapped out a message onto the groupchat,  _"Like the sceptre?"_

Immediately, a message came through from Dexter,  _"Didn't think of that."_

After a moment,  _"Hey, Val- You speak bratty teenager right?"_

Valkyrie scrunched her nose, about to send him a piece of her mind when her teacher walked in.

"Phones away!" Mr McGreggor called with a thick English accent to rival Tanith Low's, as he walked in, dropping his files on the desk, "Today's we're starting our World War two projects! Get into these pairs."

Valkyrie sighed, slipping her phone into her blazer pocket before looking up to see Livia waving at her. Valkyrie grinned, waving back.

"James and Cat," McGreggor began calling out. There was immediately a bustle as students began moving.

"Dana and Laurie."

"Jessica and Eimear."

"Stephanie and Livia." Valkyrie's shoulders relaxed, thank God. Livia got up and moved over, dumping her bag on the desk next to Valkyrie and sitting down, "Fancy meeting you here," She greeted with a teasing smile.

"Thank god," Valkyrie told her, "If I got paired with Jeremiah then I was going to pitch myself into the lake with the sea hags."

Livia laughed, a pretty tinkling laugh, "Well, glad I could save you," She said before grabbing her books out of her bag, "What topic should we do?"

Valkyrie pulled out her phone as it buzzed, checking the messages before sighing. 

"Everything okay?"

Valkyrie shrugged, "Things are going to get kinda busy, I think," She confessed, "I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be on this." Then she had an idea, "Wait- Unless..."

Livia watched in slight confusion as Valkyrie texted something quickly and once she got a reply, she grinned, "Hey, Livia- Want to come to the Sanctuary after school and get primary sources for our project?"

"Wait..." Livia blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Valkyrie put down her phone, pulling out her books, "Erskine, Dexter and Saracen were running around Europe in the 1930s- They were in Paris when the Germans took over and Satya was in Casablanca for a few months. They might be useful?"

"Holy shit!" Livia exclaimed, excitement filling her eyes, "That would be so cool!"

During lunch, Valkyrie sat with Lucas and Dinah again, listening to their strange and seemingly random conversations. 

"Okay, so my sister finally decided on a name," Dinah announced out of the blue, "Ifrit Coal."

"Let me guess," Valkyrie said with a grin, "Fire?"

"You got it," Dinah said, rolling her eyes, "Who would have guessed?"

"I still can't think of any," Lucas said forlornly, "How'd you get yours, Valkyrie?"

Valkyrie thought for a moment, "Someone told me I had a habit for raising Cain," She said with a laugh, remembering the conversation she had with Skulduggery, "And I'm pretty sure Valkyrie was from a song. But I didn't really put it together until-" She cut herself off, trying to avoid mentioning Saracen, "Anyway, that's how I got Valkyrie Cain."

"Cool," Lucas said with a nod, eyes narrowed in thought.

Valkyrie's phone buzzed again and she checked it before snorting. It was a close up selfie of Robin, and she could pretty much count every nose hair he had.

"Alright, Cain?" Lucas asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh- Yeah," Valkyrie said, typing out  _Nice_ before sending it and slipping the phone into her pocket, "So, what are you lot doing this weekend?"

Dinah went off on a long rant on how her mother had hired an adept tutor to convince her to become one.

oooooooo

"Are you sure they won't mind?" Livia had started to become increasingly nervous as they waited in the parking lot for someone to pick them up.

"Trust me, I could have forgotten to tell them and they wouldn't care," Valkyrie told her, "I might have to ditch studying to help with research if that's okay."

"That's fine," Livia said, awkwardly playing with her hands, "I'm pretty sure we'll get heaps done without doing any actual studying. But are you sure-"

"I'm sure!" Valkyrie exclaimed with a laugh, "Trust me, Hopeless isn't going to execute you or anything. He saves that for people that disturb him on Sundays-" She saw the horrified expression on Livia's face, "I'm kidding, Livia. Really, they're all a bunch of idiots."

"Excuse you?"

Valkyrie turned around and grinned widely, "Robin!" She exclaimed, jumping up and running to jump on the man, "When did you get back?!" 

Robin Larrikin laughed, hugging the girl before setting her down, "About half an hour ago," He told her happily.

"Is Shudder here too?"

Robin didn't answer at first, eyeing her with a raised, expectant eyebrow.

Valkyrie frowned before scoffed, "I'm not calling him Mr Larrikin," She told him, "Anyway," She turned and waved over Livia who looked like she was blushing, "This is Livia Thorn."

"Hey, Livia!" Robin said brightly before reaching over and engulfing the girl in a big hug.

"Jesus, Robin-" Valkyrie grabbed the back of his shirt, tugging him back, "Give her some warning."

Livia was definitely blushing now, a red spluttering mess. She adjusted her shirt, not meeting Valkyrie or Robin's eyes.

"Aw, she's blushing," Robin commented, "Val, why can't you be that cute-?"

"Okay, let's go," Valkyrie cut him off quickly, "Did you bring Satya's Porsche?"

"Nope," Robin replied with a grin, "I brought the Oompa Loompa."

"Goddamn it."

ooooooooo

"If you all don't the hell up, someone is going to die!" Satya yelled.

Immediately, Hopeless' office went silent.

"Oh, not you, Livia," Satya told the girl, "You're a guest and a pleasure to be around. Val- You could learn a thing or two."

Valkyrie scoffed, kicking the woman's leg.

Saracen, Dexter, Erskine, Satya, Valkyrie, Livia and Hopeless all sat in the previously-known-as-a-common-room-now-known-as-Erskine-and-Hopeless'-joint-office. It was great, there were couches, coffee machines and even a vending machine- That Saracen was currently trying to bully to give him a bag of chips.

"You too, Rue," Satya told him, slipping the page to the ledger she was going through.

"Why are you so grumpy today?" Erskine muttered, flicking through another book.

"Let's not get into that," Valkyrie offered as she and Livia went through a few ledgers that Hopeless had dumped in front of them as soon as she'd announced they had done enough of their project for the day.

Satya tossed aside the ledger moodily, picking up another just as her phone began to ring. "About time," She muttered, answering it, "Please say you have something good, China."

Valkyrie perked up and she could see Livia do the same. 

"Thank god," Satya muttered, "Finally something to go on." After a moment she flushed, "Okay, goodbye." She hung up, a small smile on her lips.

"What was that about-" Saracen held up a finger, "The first part. We certainly don't want to know about the last part."

"Reports of a ghost boy in Country Meath. Popped up at three nightclubs and disappeared after a little bratty tantrum," Satya explained, "China reckons he's staying at the Grandeur Hotel."

"I'll call Skulduggery," Hopeless said, picking up the landline on his desk, "Val, you better get your gear on."

"Can Livia come?" She asked, grabbing the bag that Dexter pulled from behind the couch and tossed it over.

"Sure."

"Oh," Livia blinked, "Is it going to be dangerous?" She asked worriedly.

"Hm..." Satya tilted her head, "Saracen, on a scale of adorable teddy bear to Melovent, what would you rate a moody, bratty eighteen year old who can teleport to places on the danger meter?"

"A two?"

"There we go," Satya told Livia with a wave, "It's up to you. I can drop you home if you don't want to go."

 

"I-" Livia looked at Valkyrie who just shrugged. "I think I'm good here," She confessed, "I'm not really a-" She waved her hand, "Y'know." She brightened, "I'm good with research, though!"

"A woman after my own heart," Erskine said with a grin, "Besides, Robin will be here any minute with take out."

Once again, Livia blushed but waved as Valkyrie left, followed by Saracen.

ooooooooo

Once Valkyrie and Saracen were gone, Satya flopped back onto the couch with a groan.

Livia carried on looking through books, until Hopeless' landline rang.

"Hello?" He answered with a sigh before straightening, "Tanith? What's happening?"

Satya sat up and Erskine snapped to attention, kicking Dexter who had fallen asleep.

"Shit, shit shit!" Hopeless swore. Livia's eyes widened and she froze.

"Fuck, okay- Can  you get out of England? It's not safe for you," After a moment he spoke, "I can get Anton to dock in London, you'll need to hurry." He hung up, "Peregrine's dead."

"God damn it!" Satya exclaimed, "I thought Tanith was watching him!"

"This wasn't her fault," He told her in warning, "One of the English agents reported that she was seen with Peregrine. Frightening Jones said that the report was made to us because we're heading the investigation."

Erskine shook his head, pale, "No report was made," He confirmed, "I would have known."

Dexter swore, "Guild must have intercepted it- We knew there was a spy! Who else would have that authority?"

"Dexter!" Satya hissed, quickly looking over to Livia before waving her hand.

Livia blinked and suddenly everything went silent and the adults were just sitting back in their spaces, reading ledgers.

oooooooo

"Be careful, god damn it!" Satya hissed at Dexter, throwing up a mask of shadows.

"If the spy knows then whoever he works for knows," Erskine said, leaning forward.

"I think we can assume that if this Batu person is trying to stop the Faceless Ones from coming then there must be a third party," Hopeless interjected, "That want them to come back."

"The Church?" Satya offered, "Mevolent's people?"

Erskine cleared his throat meaningfully and the other two turned to look at Satya.

She paled, "Oh no, please tell me you don't think-" She stopped, "Son of a bitch."

"The Diablerie," Hopeless stated, "It makes sense."

"I know Solomon Wreath was looking into them for years," Dexter said, "Maybe we could speak to him, probably has some answers."

"And maybe we could talk to the former leader of the Diablerie?" Erskine said, flashing a grin at Satya.

"Sure," She said, grinning back, "Just don't disturb me from seven tonight till eight in the morning and I'll get you what you need."

"Can I join?" Erskine replied cheekily.

Satya was going to shoot back with a retort but was cut off by Robin bursting into the room with two heavy, packed bags of take out, "Who wants Chow Mein!" He sang.

Hopeless sighed in relief and Satya dropped the mask between them and the other side of the room. "Call your husband," Hopeless ordered, "Tell him to dock in London and get Tanith."

Robin blinked, "Okay?"

"Oh-" Hopeless held up his hand, "And drop Livia home- Things are going to get a bit messy."

oooooooo

Valkyrie followed the good looking boy with the poofy hair from a distance on the busy street. She, Skulduggery and Saracen had waited outside the Grandeur Hotel for Fletcher Renn to appear. After a half hour of staking out, the eighteen year old Brit had left the hotel at sundown, heading towards one of the closer nightclubs.

They had gotten the call about Peregrine's death. Saracen had created some creative curse words on the spot while Skulduggery began making calls, trying to figure out who exactly was responsible for this.

But for now, they had a teleporter to catch.

Valkyrie walked past a few food stalls, making sure to stay far enough that the guy didn't know she was following him.

Then she passed an alleyway and froze, taking a step back to look at the crater in the concrete, hidden behind a bin.

"Shit," She swore, pressing the earpiece in her ear, "I think we have another player at this party."

"What do you see?"

She began walking faster, following Fletcher, "A burrower- Think it's Sanguine?"

"Probably," Saracen replied, "Okay, be careful- We're coming out."

Valkyrie was closer to Fletcher now, almost three meters behind. He took a turn into a side street and she followed him.

And he was gone.

She blinked then swung, twisting to hit Fletcher Renn.

"Ow!" He exclaimed before disappearing.

She twisted again, grabbing his shoulder and swing her leg around his and kicking the back of his knee.

He yelped and fell to the ground, "OW!" 

Suddenly, they were on top of a roof. Fletcher tried to push her away but she wrapped her arm around his neck, "Take me back,  _now,"_ She told him carefully.

He looked up at her with wide eyes, trying choke out something.

She loosened her hold slightly.

"I-I can't teleport under pressure-"

Valkyrie swore, "Of course you can't," She muttered, before pulling something out of her pocket and slapping it on his wrist before pushing him away. 

Fletcher stumbled away, gasping for breath before glaring at her, "Who the hell are you?"

"Valkyrie Cain."

"Valerie?"

Valkyrie sighed, "Valkyrie- With a K," She informed him, "I'm with the Sanctuary and I'm trying to save your life, idiot- There's a killer going after teleporters, haven't you heard?" She said sarcastically.

He stared at her before scoffing, "You've got to be lying- Those men sent you, didn't they? That Cameron Light and Peregrine guy."

"They're dead," She told him bluntly, "Peregrine was killed just about an hour ago and Light was found the day before yesterday."

Fletcher blinked, paling considerably.

"Can I take that fancy bracelet off-" She pointed at the cuff on his wrist, "So you can take me back down and we can explain what's going on?"

Fletcher swallowed, before nodding and holding out his hand. She pulled out a remote in her pocket and pressed a button and the cuff released, dropping into her quick to reach hand.

She grabbed his arm and suddenly they were back in the side street.

"Fancy seeing you here, darling." Valkyrie swore and turned to see the Texan with dark shades, leaning against the cobbled arch.

"Fletcher," She warned, "Run."

She didn't bother turning around to see if he'd listened, instead snapping her fingers to summon a spark. The spark ignited into flame and grew, swirling in her palm. She hurled the fireball, and Sanguine threw himself to one side, barely avoiding it.

He snarled, storming towards her.

Valkyrie took one step forward and extended her arm, hand open. She sank into the stance, knees bending slightly, as she snapped her palm against the air and the space in front of her rippled.

He pulled out a gun.

"Goddamn it," She swore, pressing her earpiece, "Boys?"

He shot at her and she deflected the bullet with an air shield, about to throw another fireball when she heard the cock of a gun.

"As much as I'd love to fire," Skulduggery said, his voice so sharp it could cut ice, "There is a very pretty blonde woman with a sword that would love your blood dripping off it."

"Detective Pleasant," Sanguine said delightedly, holding his hands up, his gun hanging off his thumb.

"Holy shit!" Fletcher was back and he was staring at the skeleton.

"Now, detectives," Sanguine's eyes followed Saracen as he grabbed the gun and tossed it away, "I'm just here with a business proposal."

"Shut it," Valkyrie told him.

"Now, now, Cain," He smirked, "I still want my blade back, don't think I'm done with you yet."

"Are you working for or with Batu?" Valkyrie ignored him.

"Ah, but that's the little secret, ain't it?"

"He's being paid by Batu," Saracen said, quickly snapping a cuff onto Fletcher's arm. He yelped in indignation, glaring at Saracen.

Sanguine sighed, "You're no fun, Rue."

"Who is he?" Skulduggery pushed the gun into his head hard.

Sanguine winced before grinning wildly.

"Skulduggery-" Valkyrie warned, lunging forward but it was too late, the ground swallowed up Sanguine and Skulduggery's bullet ricocheted off the ground and into the air.

ooooooooo

Satya stood alone in the abandoned house. The walls were defaced, the windows broken, the furniture rotting and the stench of mold was prominent.

She turned her head slightly, like she was listening for something, then she smiled, "It's been awhile, Solomon."

"Like the house?"

She turned to face him with a wry smile, "It's very dead person temple-y," She commented, "I prefer dinner at a five star restaurant but you get what you get."

"I've heard about your apprentice," Solomon Wreath stepped out of the shadows, dressed in his long black trench coat and a cane in hand, "Surprised you haven't shown her other branches of the magical world."

"Well," Satya shrugged, "We all have a bad relationship with necromancy. Can you blame us?"

"The royal we," Solomon noted, "I didn't realise you all had merged souls."

"Are you here to throw shade or are you planning on saying something useful?"

"Depends on what you're looking for."

Satya met his gaze, before tilting her head, "We think the Diablerie are trying to open the gate to the Faceless Ones."

"You'd be right to think so," He said with a nod, “Jaron Gallow, Murder Rose, and Gruesome Krav reunited two years ago. I have found evidence that they have since hired Billy-Ray Sanguine, to add to their ranks."

Satya nodded, "Tanith encountered Murder Rose and Gruesome Krav in London. They killed Peregrine. Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Saracen bumped into Sanguine earlier today, trying to get Fletcher Renn."

"Jaron Gallow has taken over- I suspect under the name Batu," Solomon told her.

"This makes no sense," Satya shook her head, "Something's not right- Why would Batu - Jaron- kill Trope Kessel after finding out he needed a teleporter to open the gate? Why kill any of the teleporters at all?"

"You mentioned a Fletcher Renn? Who is he?"

"New guy," Satya said before smacking her head in realisation, "Of course, none of the other teleporters would work with the Diablerie. But Fletcher's young-"

"Impressionable," Solomon added before sighing, "I should go- Our temples took an oath of neutrality," He said, "We won't work with the Diablerie but I certainly shouldn't be here."

"Thank you," Satya said, "I do appreciate you coming."

"Let me know if you need anything else," Solomon said with a nod in farewell before tapping his can against the rotting floorboard. Shadows wrapped around him and in seconds, he was gone.

"Show off."

 


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay, make sure you sleep, do your homework- And if anything comes up,  _call us,_ " Melissa ordered, raising an eyebrow.

"Got it," Valkyrie answered with a mock salute, before grinning and wrapping her arms around her mum before placing a sloppy kiss on her dad's cheek, "Have fun!"

"Thank you, honey," Desmond said with a smile, "Thank you so much."

Valkyrie shrugged, "Well, you guys have done so much for me," She said with a smile, "You deserve a break."

Melissa smiled, stroking her hair before kissing her forehead, "Okay, we better go," She told Desmond, "Before we miss our flight."

They got into the waiting taxi, waving as they drove off, leaving Valkyrie standing outside Satya's house in her uniform. Once they were out of sight, she began tugging off her school tie as she ran back inside.

"Uh- Where do you think you're going?" Satya asked, eyebrows furrowed as she stood, keys and a travel mug of chai in hand.

"To get changed?"

"I think the fuck not, Val," Satya said bluntly, "School."

Valkyrie was aghast, "You can't be serious?"

"I am."

"Satya- We could all be invaded by a bunch of gods in a couple of days," Valkyrie said, "Besides, I can babysit Fletcher or something."

"Ghastly's got that covered," Satya said, raising an eyebrow, "School is important."

"Says the woman who has never been."

Satya stared at her, mouth open, "Okay, fine. You make a great point."

Valkyrie grinned triumphantly.

ooooooooooo

Elder Thurid Guild was standing in the joint office and looked furious.

"This is ridiculous!" He spat, "No Grand Mage should be working on small cases- That is was the detectives we pay are for!"

"Elder Guild, be very careful how you address me," Hopeless warned. It was so weird seeing the younger Dead Man tell off the ancient man in front of him. 

Guild blinked, still red but suddenly wary. Valkyrie narrowed her eyes as she watched him carefully. 

Skulduggery was off with Dexter, looking at possible locations of the gate. Satya was in the file rooms with Robin, looking at maps of ley-lines, trying to find said locations.

Which left Valkyrie in the joint office with Erskine, Hopeless and Saracen along with a very furious Guild.

Valkyrie had a bad feeling about this.

She met Saracen's gaze and he narrowed his eyes before mouthing,  _stalling for something._

Valkyrie swallowed, nodding in understanding before stepping back, trying to leave without Guild's attention. 

He was luckily facing away from her. She shut the door, alone in the hallway.

Valkyrie began walking towards the staircase, passing a group of cleavers. She ran down the steps towards the lower, restricted levels. She ran down the stairs, smiling tightly to one of the staff members who were looking at her strangely.

She walked briskly towards the file rooms on the far end of the level before freezing, taking two steps back to peer at the open door of an evidence room.

She used a gush of air to push open the door to reveal an empty glass case which should have been holding Billy-Ray Sanguine's razor blade and a crater in the floor.

"Shit!" Valkyrie ran in to smash the emergency case on the inside of the room, next to the door, pressing in the lock down code.

Immediately, alarms began to blare and the walls began to glow blue with the power of the sigils that had been triggered.

Suddenly, she felt something behind her and started to turn but like a flash, there was a blade at her throat, "We meet again, Cain."

Valkyrie gritted her teeth, "Sanguine."

Sanguine breathed hard in her ear, "That was not a smart move," He warned, "Turn it off."

"Can't," She rasped, "It can only be shut off by the Grand Mage."

"Bitch," He hissed.

"Don't you know it."

He pressed the blade against her throat, his grip on her arms tightening, "Now, girly," He began, "We're going to go on a little trip to the Repository."

ooooooooooo

The alarms blared in the file room, causing Robin to spill his coffee on one of the maps.

"What on earth-" Satya stood, going to the one of the computers and logging in to it, bringing up the security feed.

Robin watched over her shoulder, "There!" He pointed at one of the small screens.

She enlarged it and swore. The Repository was currently being invaded by Gruesome Krav and Murder Rose, both of whom Satya recognised from the reports that she had been given earlier that day.

"How did they get past the death shields?" Robin asked in horror.

"Guild," She spat in reply, "And we can't even contact anyone. Lock down protocol scrambles all frequencies except the internal systems."

"Bring up the office screens," Robin ordered. Satya complied, frowning as she saw Saracen waving up at the camera. She bit her lip as she typed out a command, bringing up the audio.

"Robin and Satya are watching," Saracen said. Erskine and Hopeless got into the frame.

"What's happening?" Satya muttered, hoping to god Saracen knew what she was saying.

"Guild was stalling- I knocked him out," Saracen said, pointing at something out of the frame, "Sanguine has Val-" Robin swore. "-And they're heading towards the repository."

"What are we supposed to do?!" Satya exclaimed, "All the levels are cut off from each other."

"Guild told the Diablerie how to get around the sigils," Saracen said, "The lock down protocol is faulty. You can move between levels but no magic."

"Let's go," Satya muttered.

oooooooooo

Valkyrie's breaths were shallow, trying to avoid her skin making any contact with Sanguine's blade. 

"Let her go, Sanguine." He stopped. Valkyrie wincing as the blade pressed against her throat

"Ms Tanith Low," Sanguine said in delight, forcing Valkyrie to turn to face Tanith Low and Anton Shudder who stood in the doorway, "I was waiting for your call."

"Well, I'm here now," The blonde replied, her sword flashing, "Why don't you let go of Valkyrie and we can get dinner?"

"I knew you'd see sense eventually," Sanguine said with a nod, "But unfortunately, Cain here is my ticket out of here. Let me and friends go with our artifact, and you can have this pest."

"You can't have the Grotesquery," Anton spoke, his voice low but carrying.

"You're surrounded, Sanguine," Valkyrie heard Satya behind them, "Might as well give up."

"Hello, husband," Robin called cheekily.

She saw Anton sigh slightly.

"I know when I'm beaten," Sanguine said finally before releasing Valkyrie. Before she could turn to punch him, she felt a sharp stab to her back.

She gasped in pain, falling forward. She heard a door slam as Sanguine ran into the emergency staircase.

"Val!" Tanith shouted, running forward towards her. She clutched her stomach where the blade had gone through, blood on her hands. 

"I left my jacket on the couch-" She said in shock, blinking in pain, "Stupid-"

"Tanith, go after Sanguine," Satya ordered, reaching her side, to observe the wound "Robin, get Val to safety- Anton-"

Tanith nodded sharply, taking off.

"I'll come with you," Anton said with a nod, "My gist is not affected by the sigils."

Satya patted Valkyrie's back, "We'll see you soon, be careful, be safe. You should have gone to school, stubborn girl."

Valkyrie couldn't muster up the strength to swear at Satya's retreating back, instead leaning against Robin.

"Atta, girl," Robin murmured, sweeping Valkyrie off her feet and into his arms.

"It shouldn't hurt this much," She whispered.

"Cursed blade," He reminded her, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "Hang in there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And she died.  
> jk looool  
> love ya


	6. Chapter 6

Skulduggery stood by the Bentley, staring out at the huge stretch of meadows and hills that extended towards the woodland at Aranmore Farm, private property where a strong ley convergence was supposed to be located, a possible opening for a gate to the alternate reality.

"No one's picking up their phone- Satya was supposed to call with more coordinates for the ley convergence," Dexter said, frowning as he tried to call her again.

"Try the office," Skulduggery recommended, turning to face him.

Dexter did as asked, holding his phone to his ear. He frowned as the line was answered.

"Shit," He swore. Skulduggery tilted his head. "Automated message," Dexter told him, "The Sanctuary is on lockdown."

"Get in the car," Skulduggery ordered, "If I run enough lights, we can be there within the hour."

"Dead Man is a metaphor," Dexter muttered, getting into the car.

ooooooooo

Satya thanked the cleaver who handed her a walkie-talkie. 

"Saracen?" 

"Hearing you loud and clear."

"What's going on in the repository?" She faced the heavily bolted door, Anton by her side, a group of twenty cleavers behind them. 

"Krav and Rose are in there- Sanguine's still leading Tanith on a chase on the west end of the upper levels," Saracen answered.

"They have to be planning something," Anton said, "Valkyrie couldn't have been the only ticket out of there- Especially since Sanguine let her go. There must have been another plan to get out."

Satya bit her lip, eyes narrowed before she spoke, "Saracen- Hypothetically, if the Grotesquery was unsealed, would it still hold some fraction of power that it did in full form?"

Saracen was silent for a moment, "Shit."

"They're going to bomb this place unless we let them go," Anton said, his voice tight in horror.

"Hopeless, stop the lockdown," Satya ordered.

"You can't, Satya!" Saracen hissed, "We can't let them take the Grotesquery."

"We have Fletcher," She hissed back, stepping away from the cleavers, Anton following her with a sigh. "We maintain some control of the situation- We let them go, we can still get them."

"That's too much of a risk."

"It's a risk we're going to have to take otherwise they're going to blow us all up!" Satya exclaimed, "I'd rather fight some gods then get Valkyrie killed- Or have you forgotten that she's in the building too?"

Silence on the line.

"If you're going to be a little bitch then give the walkie talkie to the Grand Mage," She ordered, barely holding back rage.

"I'm ending the lockdown," She heard Hopeless say. She closed her eyes in relief.

The alarms immediately stopped.

"Get it open," Anton ordered the cleavers, gesturing to the repository doors.

They followed orders with precise movements, reaching the doors and unlocking the heavily locked door.

The doors opened and the cleavers awaited orders.

"Where's Tanith?" Satya said, walking into the repository towards Sanguine who stood with a smug smile on his face.

"Where is she, you sick son of a bitch?" She shouted, raising a gun and aiming at him, stopping about three meters away.

"Don't worry," He smirked, his sunglasses conveying nothing, "She and I had a great time."

"Why aren't you running?" Anton asked suspiciously.

"Drama, of course."

"Search the place," Satya ordered the cleavers, "Account for  _everything."_

"Don't worry," Sanguine said, raising his hands, "We just took the burnt up demigod and left."

"Yet you're still here."

"Oh," Sanguine nodded, "I just wanted to watch your faces when I told you the world was ending."

Satya didn't blink, pulling the trigger.

"Shit!" He kneeled over, clutching his stomach, "You shot me!" He snarled.

"That was for Valkyrie, you son of a bitch," Satya said, turning on her heel.

Anton closed his eyes for a moment before sighing and following her, "Get him stable then lock him in max."

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey yall if you like me enough to spend $3, wanna buy me a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/kaisan

Valkyrie was lying on her side, wincing as Krenspeckle Grouse stitched the entrance wound on her back. 

"Let me get this straight," Tanith said, rubbing her head, "You shot  _my_ perp and arrested him?"

"Sorry," Satya said dryly, "I had to fight for Valkyrie's honour."

"Thanks," Valkyrie said tiredly, shutting her eyes, "Honour won- Wanna get married when I'm old enough?"

"How many types of drugs are you on?" Tanith asked, nudging her leg with her arm. 

"Not enough- Why does it hurt it much?" Valkyrie asked Krenspeckle, biting back a swear as he rubbed a strange yellow mud onto the wound.

"I expect because the blade is enchanted- That's why it leaves scars," He told her before getting up, "All done. Rest for atleast twenty-four hours- I'd recommend a week but you won't bother listening."

Robin had his arms wrapped around Anton from behind, resting his head on top of Anton's shoulder. The gist-user was standing stiff as a board, his hands in the pockets of his trench coat.

"How far away are Skulduggery and Dexter?" He asked.

"I told them to go straight to Ghastly's," Saracen answered, walking in, "Now that Batu has the Grotesquery-" A pointed look was aimed at Satya which she ignored, "-We need to make sure Fletcher is on twenty four-seven watch."

"Up you get," Satya helped Valkyrie sit up. Valkyrie winced in pain, opening her mouth for the older woman to drop a healing leaf into her mouth. 

"I think you boys can manage without us for the night," Satya told Saracen, "Tanith, movie night?"

"Yeah," Tanith grinned, "Let me grab my stuff from Anton's car." 

Anton reached tossed her his keys. She nabbed them out of the air and left.

Satya checked that Krenspeckle had left, "Have at it then."

"That was reckless," Saracen hissed, stepping towards her.

"It was a risk we were going to have to take!" Satya exclaimed, "There was so much shit in that repository, we could have all been blown to smithereens-"

"They could have blown us up whether we let them go or not!" Saracen shot back, "We could have been dead either way!"

"Stop fighting!" Robin stage whispered from behind Anton.

They both ignored him.

"But we still have Fletcher!" Satya replied with a glare, "What's done is done- We have Sanguine now, we can use him. Stop being a bitch over this."

Saracen glared back at her but nodded.

"Ready to go?" Tanith was back. She handed Anton back the keys. 

"Can someone carry me?" Valkyrie asked weakly, wrapping her jacket around her. She was feeling slightly cold with only her sports bra on.

"She's all yours," Satya told the blonde, patting her muscular arm with a smile.

oooooooooo

Satya leaned her head on Valkyrie's. The girl had fallen fast asleep about thirty minutes into  _the Empire Strikes Back._ Satya checked her phone, debating whether to text Melissa or not. She sighed, putting down her phone and gently moved Valkyrie off her, "More popcorn?" She asked Tanith as she got up.

"Nah, I'm good, thanks," Tanith flashed her a smile.

Satya grabbed her wine glass, carefully stepping over Tanith's legs as she crossed the living room and went into the kitchen.

She put the wine glass into the sink, about to turn on the tap as her phone beeped with a notification. Satya frowned, checking the time before opening the text.

_Come over?_

Satya swallowed, biting her lip before walking back to the living room, "Hey, mind if I go out for a little bit?"

Tanith looked up, "Uh- Sure," She replied. Satya grabbed her coat.

"Give China my best!" Tanith called after her.

Satya shook her head as she shrugged on her coat, before texting back,  _On my way._

_ooooooooo_

Satya's eyes fluttered shut as China ran her fingers through her hair, a shiver running up her spine.

She sighed, turning her slightly to press her lips to the enchantress' neck.

"Leave a mark and I will gut you," China threatened. Satya let out a breathless laugh before pulling away and resting her head on China's shoulder.

There was a moment of blissful silence until, "I love you."

Satya froze, "Excuse me?"

It was China's turn to laugh, "You heard me."

Satya sat up, peering down at her, "You haven't even taken me out to dinner yet," She said accusingly. 

China looked up at her with her crystal blue eyes, one eyebrow raised, "You want me to wine and dine you?"

"I want you to wine and dine me  _then_ bed me," Satya corrected, "And only then will I accept you proclamation of love." She was putting on a calm, teasing front but in reality, her heart was pounding. This was China Sorrows, god damn it.

"Fine," China said, reaching up and threading her fingers through Satya's hair, "Wednesday, seven am. I'll send a car."

Satya looked down at her, narrowing her eyes in thought before her lips raising in a smile as she reached down and kissed China, good and proper.

"I'll be there."

China hooked her leg around hers, bringing Satya on top of her, "Good."

 


	8. Chapter 8

"Remus Crux is kicking up a fuss."

"Who?" Fletcher and Valkyrie chorused before looking at each other with glares.

"He's one of Guild's guys," Satya told them before turning her attention to Skulduggery, "What does he want?"

"Asking to see Guild for one thing," The skeleton answered.

"That obviously can't happen," Satya said with a sigh, settling herself on Erskine's desk.

"We can't keep his there for much longer," Saracen said from behind her, "It's been almost twenty hours and we've found nothing new. Erskine and Hopeless have done their best to keep him from breaking out."

"I found the convergence, by the way," Satya said, raising a hand, "You can find it on the ley maps but Fletcher should probably be able to sense it anyway if he got close enough."

"Isn't that the opposite of what we're trying to do," Ghastly said. He was standing by the window, peering out like he was watching for a storm, "Sounds like a bad idea to take him to the possible place where people want to use him to open up a gate to another dimension."

"Well," Skulduggery straightened his tie, "It's a damn good thing we kept the Sceptre far away from the Grotesquery," He said, placing his hat on the top of his skull, "Otherwise we would be quite fucked."

Valkyrie got to her feet, dramatically putting on her jacket once she saw Ghastly's pointed look. 

"Where are you going?" Fletcher asked.

"To go get the only thing that can stop these gods should they manage to get into this world," She informed him.

"Right. Yeah, you should probably do that."

"So, how do we go about Crux?" Satya asked, raising an eyebrow, "He hates you and he can't stand me."

"You figure it out," Skulduggery told her, dipping his head in farewell.

"Bastard," Satya said fondly, before pulling out her phone which had started to ring, "Hello?"

"Satya, darling," China drawled.

"China," Satya said with slight confusion, "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you would be kind to join me for dinner tonight?"

Satya frowned, sliding off the desk and holding up a finger to stop Skulduggery's departure and turning the call to speaker, "Shall I bring a bottle of wine?"

"Mm... Something white will do." That did it, China despised white wine.

"See you tonight, then," Satya said before hanging up, "Saracen, Crux is all yours- Someone is watching China, her lines are tapped."

"How could you tell?" Fletcher asked in slight confusion.

"China despises white wine," Saracen stated, getting to his feet, "Ghastly- Go with her."

"Why- Do you know something?" Ghastly asked, immediately snapping to attention.

"No," Saracen shook his head, "I just have...." He shrugged helplessly, "A feeling."

"Helpful," Satya muttered, "Come along, Bespoke- And I suppose the creature with the huge head can come."

"It's  _hair,"_ Fletcher exclaimed.

oooooooooo

Valkyrie checked her voicemails as Skulduggery drove like a mad man.

"Believe it or not," Valkyrie said, "I actually like being alive so could you just  _not-"_

Skulduggery braked hard.

"Son of a bitch!" Valkyrie yelled, rubbing her forehead, "Skulduggery, why?" She said, dismayed.

"Hello, yes- The world is going to end at some point so I would like to get one of the few weapons that can help," Skulduggery replied sarcastically.

"Just because you're dead doesn't mean the rest of us want to be," She grumbled, putting her phone to her ear to listen to the voicemail.

 _"Hey, Valky-Stepha- You know what, hey."_ Livia?

_"So, um- Just wanted to check in on you because you weren't at school yesterday and I heard about the Sanctuary lockdown and.... Yeah, see you next week, bye."_

"Sweet of her," Valkyrie muttered.

"What's that?"

"Nothing," Valkyrie said with an innocent, "Just saying how much I appreciate a mentor with fine driving skills like you."

"We're here."

"Thank god," Valkyrie said in relief, hopping out of the car, "I feel like kissing the ground."

"Har har."

Valkyrie began heading towards the large statue sitting in the middle of the park, "I still think this was a stupid place to hide the sceptre," She stated.

"It worked," Skulduggery replied, reaching her side as they came to a still infront of the statue of some old guy who founded something.

"Hey, dude. Can we get what we came for?" Valkyrie asked the statue with a tight grin, "This is so stupid."

The base of the statue began to crack and crumble away to reveal and gold box.

"Ta, mate," Valkyrie said, promptly, reaching in and wincing as she lifted the box, "Little help here?" She asked Skulduggery expectantly

"I don't fancy turning into dust."

"You little bi-"

oooooooooo

"Knock twice if you're alive," Satya called into the apartment, a flame in her palm.

"And if she's dead?" Ghastly asked her with a raised eyebrow. 

"Then I'm missing out on dinner on Wednesday?"

"Oh, so you're going to  _dinner_ now?" He asked in interest, "What happened to your arrangement?"

Fletcher cleared his throat, "Hello, still here," He said, waving awkwardly.

They ignored him.

"I will fill you in as soon as I find the other person in said arrangement," Satya replied, stepping very carefully into the apartment. Fletcher shadowed her and Ghastly took the rear.

Suddenly, a phone began to ring. Fletcher jumped, grabbing Satya's arm.

"Jesus-" Satya muttered, snuffing out the flame and shoving him off and going into the dining room and grabbing the cell phone that was ringing, "Looks like a burner."

"Don't-" Ghastly tried to stop her, but sighed when she answered the phone.

"Who are you and where is China Sorrows?" Satya said darkly, glaring at Fletcher who was poking at some of China's things that were sitting on the tables.

 _"China Sorrows is taking her place exactly where she should be,"_ A man's voice issued.

"Shall I call back later?"

_"Give us the teleporter and you can have China Sorrows- and the Elders."_

"What makes you think we want China back- Wait, did you say the Elders _?"_

_"Meet us in twelve hours with the teleporter at the farm or there will be hell to pay."_

The man hung up.

"What did he say?" Ghastly said expectantly.

"He just said that the Diablerie has the Elders," Satya said, wide eyed, "But that's not possible- We just spoke to them-"

Ghastly shook his head in confusion, "Shit- If they have Erskine and Hopeless then who in the holy hell-"

"-is in the Sanctuary?" Satya finished, her arm falling to her side, "Fletcher, get us back  _now."_

oooooooooo

Saracen marched to the underground bunker, "Let me in," He ordered the cleavers.

He waited for a moment, but they didn't comply. "Well?"

"There's no one in there, sir."

Saracen blinked, "What do you mean  _no one is there?_ " He repeated, "Where are the Elders? Where is Hopeless and Erskine?!"

"A man came and told us you had sent them," The Cleaver on the right said, "The Grand Mage recognised him and they went with him."

"Saracen!" He turned to see Satya, Ghastly and Fletcher appear out of thin air.

"The Diablerie has them!" Ghastly told him. Saracen swore, "Guild's not the spy, then," He said in realisation.

"They have China too," Satya said, looking thoroughly pissed, "We have twelve hours to give them Fletcher to get them back."

"Dismissed," Saracen told the cleavers who nodded and then walked off, "Hopeless knew the man- Trusted him enough to follow him."

"So, we're back to square one," Ghastly said, "No idea who the damn spy is and we'e short of three Elders."

"Not to mention two dead men," Satya said.

"Suit up," Saracen told them, "We're getting them back- We're finishing this today."

"I'll call the skeleton," Satya said.

"I'm going to go pee."

Everyone turned to look at Fletcher who just looked unabashed, "Sue me- I'm stressed!" He yelped.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> im so pissed half this chapter got deleted because I didn't remember to copy it and it took ages to write in the first place because it just wouldn't,,,, flow,,,right yknow?? Argh this chapter can fight me. So i'm sorry this took so long and if it seems rushed. I'm tryna get this book done by the end of the week.

"Riddle me this," Dexter said, running a hand through his still wet hair, "How did Gallow just walk into the Sanctuary and face zero resistance?"

"And why did Hopeless go with him?" Saracen said, "What could possible have been going through his brain to let him, Erskine and Guild go with Gallow?"

"He took China without a fight too," Satya said, head in hands as they rocked against eachother in the vans, "There has to be something bigger here."

"Something else is at stake," Skulduggery said darkly as he drove, like a mad man of course.

Valkyrie just listened as they talked, but out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Fletcher fiddle with his hands, clenching his fist, his knuckles white. His leg was shaking, bobbing up and down next to hers.

"You'll be fine," She murmured.

He started, his eyes meeting hers, wide with fright, masked with something else, "Do you do this often?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"Just a few too many times to be normal," She confessed, nerves creeping into her voice too, "Don't worry, I'm scared too."

"I'm not scared," Fletcher said indignantly, "I'm just..." He trailed off.

"Don't worry," Valkyrie replied with a small smile, "I felt the same last year," She narrowed her eyes, "And the year before." She gave a shaky laugh, "I don't think I'll ever get rid of that feeling."

Fletcher hesitated, looking down at his fingers for a moment, his hair falling into his face. He was about to say something when Saracen called from the front seat, "We're here!"

"Valkyrie, you're on Fletcher duty," He ordered, unbuckling, "Keep your eyes sharp."

"Got it," Valkyrie said. The van opened up and they all got up.

They had parked on a field, the other van pulling up beside them. Valkyrie looked out around the farm, fields only interrupted by the solitary farmhouse that stood infront of them.

"What's the plan?" Robin got out of the other van, followed by Anton, Ghastly and Tanith.

Skulduggery held out his gloved hand, uncurling his fingers as he felt for presence, "They're behind the farmhouse- Satya?"

"It's up," She replied.

Saracen pulled out his gun, checking the bullets before slipping it in his holster, "Get in, get the grand mage, the elders and get out."

"And China," Satya reminded him, a snap in her tone.

"Remember your priorities, Satya," He warned.

Valkyrie watched this exchange with a frown. They had been snappy with eachother since the fiasco at the Sanctuary.

ooooooooo

"Give us the teleporter and we'll let them go."

Hopeless, Erskine and China were on their knees, sigils glowing on the grass around them. Guild was too, next to them but gagged, his eyes wide with terror.

Murder Rose stood behind Guild, a gun pointed at his head. Gruesome Krav next to her with a gun pointed at Hopeless.

Behind them, the remains of the Grotesquery lay on the ground, a pulsing blue light around it.

Jaron Gallow was standing slightly forward, a smirk on his lips.

"You have four hostages, we have one," Skulduggery replied, "Doesn't seem very fair."

Satya's eyes were focused on China who met her eyes. Slowly, China shook her head slightly. Don't give them the teleporter.

Satya nodded in response.

"Tell you what," Jaron called, "You give us the teleporter-" He raised his hand and suddenly, the sound of a gunshot echoed through the fields and Thurid Guild fell forward, dead.

"Shit," Saracen hissed.

Satya bit her lip, stepping forward towards Fletcher, "Fletcher, you need to trust me," She whispered.

"What are you doing?" Saracen hissed.

"Fixing my mistake. Give me your gun."

He locked her gaze, searching her eyes before nodding, handing over his gun.

As soon as the gun met her grasp, Satya grabbed Fletcher.

He yelled as she held him tightly, wrapping an arm around his neck and holding the gun to his head, "What are you doing?!"

"Shoot anyone else and I'll shoot him," She called, shoving him forward, pushing past Skulduggery.

Immediately, the smirk slid of Gallow's face, "Don't you dare, Eka."

"See," Satya called, "You need this kid. He dies and we're all saved."

"You wouldn't," Gruesome called, "You're on the good side." He didn't sound so sure.

"Am I?"

Fletcher winced as she pressed the gun harder against his head.

"You've heard of us," Skulduggery spoke, stepping forward, "You've heard of what we've done."

Gallow snarled, "The gods will kill you all."

"And I'll kill this kid if you don't start letting some people go," Satya replied.

"Let the shape shifter go," He ordered.

Gruesome pushed Hopeless forward, tapping the sigil to free him. Hopeless got to his feet, his eyes flashing in regret as he walked across the field, past Gallow, "I hope you know what you're doing," He murmured to Satya as he walked into Saracen's arms.

"Now, Erskine," Satya ordered.

"You are not in any place to be bargaining, bitch," Rose shouted, baring her teeth.

"The way I see it," Satya said, pushing Fletcher forward slightly, "I am exactly in that place."

"Let Ravel go," Jaron snarled, eyes flashing in angry. He was in a tight spot.

Ravel was pushed forward. Now, it was just China. Her dress was muddied and her hair askew.

"Now, her," Satya ordered. She and Fletcher were halfway across the field now.

She threw up a mask, "Fletcher," She murmured very quietly,whispering instructions into his ear.  
"What?"

"Trust me!" She hissed, releasing a sigh of relief as China walked past her, her head held high.

"Now, the boy," Jaron said, reaching out a hand, "No, tricks or the gods will have you all."

"The gods can kiss my ass," Satya muttered, and pulled the trigger.

"NO!" She heard Valkyrie scream from behind her.

The body of Fletcher Renn fell to the ground infront of her.

Immediately, gunshots came for her and she ran back, shooting at the three.

"What have you done?!" Jaron screeched behind the smoke of gunfire. The quick succession of bullets followed his voice. Someone had brought a machinegun to the party.

ooooooooo

Valkyrie threw herself to the side behind the farmhouse, her ears ringing as gunfire came for her.

What had she just seen?

Satya had just killed Fletcher.

Hopeless grunted as he fell to the ground, ducking behind the farmhouse.

"Why did you go with them?" Tanith asked angrily, leaning low, "What kind of idiot goes with the enemy without a fight?!"

"I had to-" He told her with a wince, "Val- I'm so sorry but Batu has your parents."

Valkyrie's heart dropped.

oooooooooo

"Hello?" Robin called, kicking the bottom of the ajar door with his boot, "Mr farmer? No?"

"There's someone in there," Anton said gruffly, resting his hand on his husband's shoulder.

Robin followed him, creeping carefully into the homestead's living room and following him down a hall, towards the door on the end of the hall.

They passed a strangely neat and clean bedroom and an empty bathroom. 

"On three," Anton whispered.

"Like- Before the three or on three-" Robin cut himself off, "Y'know what..." He just kicked the door open, snapping his fingers to summon a flame, "Hands up!"

"Wait-" Anton grabbed him, "Melissa?"

ooooooooooo

Tanith ducked as Murder Rose swung her knives above her head. She kicked out, sweeping her feet under the assailant's legs. Rose jumped over them, stabbing downwards and missing, only to be kicked forward by Ghastly who grabbed her hair, pulling her back.

She snarled, baring her teeth up at him. 

"Night, bitch," He said as Tanith swung her sword, swiping at Rose's throat. 

Dexter hit Krav with a beam of crackling light. Krav snarled, stumbling back into Saracen's fist. Saracen swung, catching him in the jaw. Dexter grabbed Krav's head, swinging it down into his knee before quickly twisting, snapping his neck.

"Nicely done," Saracen said, panting.

"Thanks," Dexter replied with a grin.

"Love the flirting, boys," Satya said with a sarcastic smile, "But maybe save it for later?"

"Agreed." The three's heads snapped towards Hopeless who was standing there.

"Get out of here!" Saracen hissed, "We can't afford another dead Elder!"

"I'm not-" Gunfire interrupted Hopeless. 

"A little help!" Skulduggery roared, tossing aside his pistol, snapping up a barrier of air to deflect the bullets that Jaron had shot with his machine gun.

"OUT!" Saracen yelled at Hopeless with a glare before running towards Skulduggery, Dexter at his heels.

"He's right," Satya told Hopeless, "We don't need to replace you. Erskine isn't ready to become Grand Mage- Even though it's clear he had the right idea."

"He was being noble and saving the woman you love."

"Do the same, will ya?" Satya told him, snapping her fingers just as a loud boom echoed through the farm, stopping them in their tracks.

"Should have killed the goddamn kid," She said, wide eyed at the sight that beheld her. Hopeless shoved her with a glare, "No. We don't do that."

"Get out of here," She told him.

Valkyrie crept up from the farmhouse, watching as an older man stepped into view with a shotgun pointed at- "Fletcher?"

The boy was clearly alive and about to clearly die as the man shoved him next to the remains of the Grotesquery.

"Shit, shit, shit," Saracen muttered, backing away slightly, "That's Batu."

Skulduggery let Jaron fall to the ground to prostrate to the new player at the party before summoning his gun. As soon as it touched his gloved fingers, he shot a bullet into Gallow's head.

Batu snarled, "You killed my last offering."

"Sorry, not sorry," Satya said with a tight grin, "Now, give us the kid."

"You know what your problem is?" Batu said, ignoring her.

"Great," Dexter muttered, "Monologues."

"You all are so up yourselves that you don't think that mortals can be just as dangerous," Batu said, a smirk on his lined face, "Boy, touch the Demigod."

Saracen turned, meeting the hidden Valkyrie's eyes and nodded.

She swallowed, backing away and turning to run to where the last van was parked. Valkyrie pulled open the van, rushing to the case in the corner of the van, scrambling to open it and pick up the scepter it held.

Valkyrie let out a shaky breath as she held it. The last time she used it, she had killed Nefarian Serpine.

"Okay, now let's hope I don't have to use it."

ooooooooo

Fletcher closed his eyes, "I'm so sorry, guys- I tried but he-"

"Shut up, Renn. I'm trying to think," Skulduggery snapped, holding up his hand.

"You won't get out of this," Batu said with a laugh, "Boy- Touch it!"

Satya narrowed her eyes, "I had a great joke waiting." 

"Not the time," Saracen whispered, "It's going to happen- We can't fix it- It's over-"

Fletcher slowly reached, pressing his fingers to the Grotesquery's head.

Immediately, a force knocked everyone back- A wave of cold, pure power, coursing past everyone.

And then a Faceless One appeared.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

Satya felt cold and dark fill her. Suddenly, all the masks she held up around her fell and the crystal that pressed against her chest seemed to get heavier.

She screamed.

"Satya-" Ghastly ran for the woman as she fell to her knees, holding her hands to her chest as she screamed but stopped when black smoke seemed to barricade her. He watched in horror as her eyes met his, blood falling from her lips. She fell to the ground.

And she didn't get back up.

ooooooooooo

The force of power that the arrival of the Faceless One had thrown everyone on the field back.

It threw Valkyrie against the van and she hit the window,  _hard._

She gasped in pain as she slumped to the ground, the scepter falling to the ground next to her. There was a ringing in her ears.

Valkyrie let out another gasp of pain as she pressed her hand against her stab wound that was still healing. She released a few quick breaths, "Come on, Cain," She muttered before clenching her fist and getting to her feet and grabbing the scepter.

She felt a sharp pang in her stomach and she buckled, "Fuck!"

oooooooooooo

Dexter had be thrown against the farmhouse with a sickening crunch, his head hitting the wood. He fell to the ground and like Satya, he didn't get back up.

Saracen shot at Batu, getting to his feet. But the bullets hit a shield that had formed around the Grotesquery, Batu and Fletcher and within seconds, he had run out of bullets. He tossed it aside, "Ghastly- The machine gun!" 

Ghastly pulled himself away from Satya's side and flexed his fingers, causing the machine gun to fly into Saracen's outstretched arms, "Don't waste your bullets!" He warned, "We have bigger problems."

He nodded at the flickering Faceless One that was slowly falling into this reality.

Tanith got to her feet, swinging her sword in an arc, "So, that's a god?"

Skulduggery snapped his fingers, summoning a flame, "Saracen, find Valkyrie. She has the scepter."

"Need any help?" Robin ran in with a grin, Anton close at his heels.

"Oh snap," Robin's eager grin faltered as he spotted the chaos, "We are in some deep shit."

"If we all die," Saracen said with a terse nod, "It was great fighting with you."

And the the Faceless One's form flickered for one final time before solidifying.

"Run!" Skulduggery hissed, "Run!"

oooooooooo

"Up you get," Saracen helped Valkyrie to her feet.

"I- I don't feel so hot-" Valkyrie murmured, "There's s-something wrong-" She was shivering.

"You have a fever," Saracen said in surprise, "Val- Shit-"

"We have to close the portal-" She limped, resting her arm against him, "I'll be fine."

"The only reason I'm listening to you is because we're about to die-" Saracen informed her, limping her over to the farmhouse, "Anton and Robin found your parents- they're in the homestead."

Valkyrie let out a shaky, shivery breath, "Thank god."

"Yeah, don't do that," He said with a shaky laugh, "Just met one, they're not that nice."

Another shock wave hit them and Valkyrie was shoved against Saracen who groaned as he hit the farmhouse. Valkyrie strengthened her grip on the scepter, careful to not let it touch him as they slowly but steadily made their way to the field where the fight was taking place.

She could see Fletcher sitting next to the Grotesquery, suspended by a bubble of black smoke that protected them and Batu. 

"I-If-" She shivered, "-If I destroy the Grotesquery-" Black dots were swarming infront of her, "Will it close the p-portal?"

 

The Faceless One drew her attention.

A creature of madness, formless and towering, a thing not of this world, abstract and dark.

She wanted to scream as its presence filled her mind, but the scepter in her hand seemed to sing, protecting her.

"I-" Saracen shook his head, clearing it, "I don't know-"

The farmhouse doors creaked open, "Get in!" Robin hissed, "Hurry!"

"What's wrong with her?" Skulduggery asked, his voice harsh.

"I think it's Sanguine's blade, it must have poisoned her somehow," Saracen replied.

"Where's Satya and Dexter?" Valkyrie managed out.

Silence was all she got in reply.

"Right, okay-" She started to say before letting out a sharp gasp and keeling over.

"You okay?" Tanith got to her side, worry on her face.

"It- hurts," Valkyrie whimpered pathetically, letting the scepter drop from her hand.

"Skulduggery, what do we do?" Ghastly asked, his voice void of emotion as he stared through the window at the unconscious body of Satya.

"Force it back to the portal, close the portal, try not to die."

"You make it sound so easy," Robin said, his voice glum.

oooooooooo

Skulduggery ran, his hat discarded, fireball aimed at the god.

The god batted it away like it was a fly, turning to face the skeleton with a curious tilt of his horrifying head.

"Drive it back!" Skulduggery roared, snapping his fingers again.

Anton stepped forward, releasing the gist that he held on the leash. The snarling force of shadows climbed out of his chest, attacking the Faceless One. For one glorious moment, the god stepped back towards the swirling abyss that was the gateway.

Tanith ran at it, Robin's shield of air bouncing her higher to the point that she was above the god, her sword swinging at it. The Faceless One simply flicked its mutated hand and she fell with a terrible scream, holding her head in her hands as she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Ghastly clenched his fist as he watched the scene by Saracen and Valkyrie's side. 

"The portal is sucking everything around it in," Saracen said with realisation, "How good's your aim?"

"Not very good," Valkyrie replied with a shiver, "Especially not now- I don't want to hit Fletcher."

"We're going to have to get closer," He replied grimly.

"Keep it's attention!" Ghastly yelled to the others before picking Valkyrie up. They began running towards the bubble of protection, shock waves sending them back every few paces.

Batu stood, wind rippling around him, a smile of satisfaction on his face. As they approached, he turned towards them and they could see the strange glint in his eyes.

"He's being possessed," Ghastly said in realisation, "A human host."

Batu left the bubble, leaving Fletcher's side and began to walk, slowly, towards the god, "Take me," He whispered, but his voice seemed to carry, "I have waited so long."

Valkyrie watched in horror as the god ignored Skulduggery and Anton, turning towards Batu and reaching out its hand.

They all watched as Batu seemed to buckle, screaming in pain as he rose up, his body suspended midair as his veins seemed to pop out of his skin, his bones cracking and snapping.

Then he fell to his feet, his body movements jerky like a marionette on strings as he turned to face them.

Valkyrie gasped, eyes wide, "We have to close that gate  _now."_

Ghastly put her down, shifting her weight to Saracen so he could snap his fingers, "I'll handle Batu-" He threw the fireball, "Close the gate!"

Saracen and Valkyrie limped towards the bubble, "Fletcher!"

Fletcher's head snapped up. His face was gaunt and waxy, his eyes seemed to have lost energy and light. The gateway was physically draining him.

"You can't let go!" Saracen yelled, "Val is going to destroy the Grotesquery but only when the Faceless One is close enough!"

Fletcher didn't respond just looking back down at the remains of the demigod.

Every second that ticked past was like agony, Valkyrie's grip on the scepter tightened and it seemed to sing louder in the presence of the gods.

Skulduggery hurtled fireballs, Anton's gist pushing the god with the assistance of Robin.

Ghastly ducked at Batu's waves of shadows, the possessed man's bones seemed to stick out, almost like piercing daggers.

Then with one final attack, Skulduggery yelled, "NOW!"

Valkyrie released a breath, willing the scepter to listen to her.

Seconds past.

Then a black beam left the crystal atop the scepter, piercing the bubble around Fletcher and the Grotesquery and hit the remains, turning it to dust and ash.

There was a last shock wave. Valkyrie turned and watched, dumbfounded, as the black hole began to grow smaller slowly.

The Faceless One simply turned, about to move away from it when Skulduggery grabbed Robin's arm and together, the two elementals locked force, building their own wave to send the god back into the hole.

It worked.

Oh it worked.

The Faceless One was dragged into the hole, the air around the portal sucking in everything.

Everything.

Including the skeleton and man that had moved forward instinctively with their power.

"NO!" Anton's gist swiped at Robin who was closest, knocking him off course, throwing him across the grass.

And the portal closed. Sure it took the god away.

But it also took Skulduggery Pleasant with it.

There was silence on the farm.

The only sound being the collapse of Batu as his puppet master cut the strings. He lay on his farm, dead.

The Valkyrie's screams pierced the silence, "NO!" Her guttural cries were mixed with pain and anger and _oh god, oh god, what have I done-_


	11. Chapter 11

Saracen stormed into the interrogation room, "What's the cure?!" He seethed, banging his hands flat onto the table.

Sanguine grinned, his fingers curling in anticipation, "Guess it's finally hitting the brat, huh?" He sneered.

Saracen stared into the empty holes where his eyes were supposed to be before raising his eyes and meeting Ghastly's, before giving him a sharp nod.

Ghastly lunged, forcing Sanguine's hands to flatten against the table while holding his hand back. Saracen flashed Sanguine's signature blade, letting the burrower catch a glimpse before stabbing it into his hands.

Sanguine screamed in pain and Ghastly let him go, "Give us the cure!" The tailor ordered.

Sanguine just gritted his teeth, his eyes glinting in fury and pain.

"No?" Saracen said, reaching and pulling out the blade, letting the blood drip for a moment before stabbing it into Sanguine's other hand in a flash.

The assassin let out another scream of pain, "Fine!" He gritted his teeth.

"We're listening."

"One part of my blood, two parts saltwater, mix it with healing mud until it becomes a paste," Sanguine said with a sneer, "Put it on the wound and it'll fix the brat up."

Saracen reached and yanked out the blade, causing Sanguine to let out a strangled gasp. 

"Appreciate the help," Ghastly said sarcastically, holding open the door for Saracen.

"What about me?!" Sanguine yelled, "OI, YOU BASTARDS!"

"Burn in hell, Sanguine."

oooooooooo

Valkyrie shivered as Krenspeckle applied the new paste to her wound. 

"My poor baby," Melissa murmured, rubbing her arm soothingly. She was hooked up to an IV line. Same as Desmond, but he lay on a bed next to Valkyrie's, fast asleep as he was fed liquids to get him back to normal.

Dexter was unconscious on the bed next to them, bandages wrapped around his head.

Valkyrie let out a gasp as she felt the paste start to draw out the poison, "It's working."

"Good," Krenspeckle grumbled, "Sorry I didn't figure it out sooner."

"Don't worry about it," She replied with a tired smile, moving to sit up.

They turned as they heard a rustling behind them. Valkyrie got up and saw Tanith sit up, rubbing her head.

"Oh, thank god," Hopeless murmured, getting to his feet, shrugging Grouse off who was trying to heal the cuts on his face.

"What happened?" Tanith asked tiredly, "I just remember the Faceless One and then my head felt like it was going to burst."

There was silence until Valkyrie spoke up, "He's gone," She whispered, her throat dry. She had screamed herself hoarse just hours before.

"Who's gone- What are you talking about?" 

"Skulduggery," Hopeless said softly, "Skulduggery is gone."

ooooooooo

Satya tore through Skulduggery's house, upending drawers and emptying out cupboards. She knocked over mannequins, as she went through his hat stash, searching through suit pockets for signs, clues, anything.

She ran to his office, opening snapping open the padlock that locked his cupboard, shoving aside the skeletons journals, some old and made by a familiar hand, some more recent and store bought. 

Finally she snarled, banging her fists against the cupboard, "Where did you put it, you son of a bitch?!" She screamed in frustration.

She finally slumped, falling into the armchair that Skulduggery kept specifically to meditate. Satya held her head in her hands, her fingers tapping out a rhythm against her forehead.

"Where did you put the armour, Skulduggery?" She whispered, "How can I get you back home without it?"

She froze when she heard the front door open.

"Satya?"

She looked up, "This is my fault," She whispered, "We both know it, Saracen."

Saracen walked to her, lowering himself to bring her into a hug, "This isn't your fault, Satya," He murmured, "You didn't have much of a choice. If we hadn't let them go, they could have blown up the Sanctuary and then where would we be?"

She wrapped her arms around him, resting her face in his chest, "We have to get him back somehow. I need to tell-"

"His skull." He cut her off.

"Excuse me?" She pulled away, looking at him in confusion. 

"Remember?" He looked at her expectantly, "Got his real skull stolen by goblins. We have to find it and open the portal back up."

The hope that she had lost just moments before was back. 

They didn't need the armour.

She didn't need to tell the boys the truth.

"We're going to get him back."

Saracen nodded, "We're going to get him back," He promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of 'The Gods of Old' :) Hope y'all enjoyed it. I'm going to be writing a few scenes that are set between this book and the next and I'll put them in my Oneshot and minific book if y'all want to look out for that. I'm also planning a HP AU!!! Idk the idea came to me one day and now I can't wait to write it :) Till next book then.


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